This disclosure relates to an airfoil having a shank-supported platform, for example, for an industrial gas turbine engine.
Industrial gas turbine blades include a shank that is provided between the blade root and a platform that supports the blade airfoil. One type of turbine blade includes lateral pockets provided in the shank radially beneath the platform. A rail has been used to stiffen the platform to avoid platform cracking due to thermal mechanical fatigue. The rail extends in an axial direction and radially inward from the platform in a direction opposite the airfoil.
A typical turbine blade does not include such rails. Instead, one type of military turbine blade incorporates a gusset that extends from the underside of the platform perpendicularly from the pocket toward a lateral edge of the platform. The gusset has a uniform thickness and is recessed a significant amount from the lateral edge.